Look at your key. If the cuts are notches along the edge, it is a standard edge-cut key. If it is thicker, smooth-edged, with a winding groove milled into the face, it is a laser-cut key — also called a sidewinder or internal-cut key. Most cars sold in the last fifteen years use the second kind.
Why manufacturers switched
Edge-cut locks have a handful of pin positions and can be picked or bumped by anyone with a little practice. A laser-cut lock uses a sidebar and wafers that read the groove from both sides; the key can be inserted either way up, it is far harder to pick, and the blank is much harder to duplicate casually. Security went up, and so did the cost of the cutting equipment.
Why the kiosk cannot copy it
Cutting a sidewinder key needs a milling machine that traces or computes the groove to a fraction of a millimetre — not a duplicating wheel. Our van carries an Xhorse automatic cutter that does it from the car's key code (derived from the VIN) or by decoding an existing key. That is the machine in the photo above; the blue light is the guard, and the chips on the deck are what a key looks like halfway through.
Standard keys are not going away
Plenty of trucks, older Japanese cars and work vans still use edge-cut keys, and they are quick and cheap to duplicate. If yours is one, a copy takes a couple of minutes. It still needs the transponder programmed if it is going to start the car — see transponder keys explained.
Quick reference
- Edge-cut: notched edge, thin blade, fast to copy, easier to pick
- Laser-cut: smooth edge, groove down the face, needs a milling machine, high security
- Both usually carry a transponder chip that must be programmed to the car
- Both can be cut from the VIN when no key exists
Which cars use which
Broadly: most Hondas, Subarus, Toyotas, Nissans, Fords, GMs and all the European makes moved to laser-cut keys through the 2000s and 2010s. Many domestic trucks, older Japanese models, work vans and some budget models kept edge-cut keys longer. If you are not sure, a photo of your key texted to us settles it.
Questions we get
Can a laser-cut key be copied from a photo?
In principle the groove encodes the cuts, which is a reason not to post photos of your keys online. In practice we decode from the key itself or the VIN, with proof of ownership.
Why does my laser-cut key feel loose in the ignition?
Wear. The groove and the wafers both wear; when the key starts to stick or needs a wiggle, have a fresh one cut from code before the old one snaps off in the lock. Extraction is a job nobody enjoys paying for.
Does high security mean unpickable?
Harder, not impossible — we open laser-cut door locks in lockouts with the right decoder. The point is that a casual thief cannot, and a casual key copier cannot either.
Cut in the van, anywhere in the county
The cutter runs off the van's power, so a laser-cut key is made at your kerb in Spokane, in a Liberty Lake driveway or in a Cheney campus lot exactly the same way.
